What is your car’s new road tax band? Vehicle Excise Duty on cars in the UK is changing. We explain what amount of tax you will need to pay going forward.
Your Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), more often referred to as road tax, will be based on either engine size or fuel type and CO2 emissions, depending on when the vehicle was registered.
For the last 16 years your VED has been based on your vehicles CO2 emissions. The Government’s current policy is that the less carbon dioxide your car produces the less tax you should pay. Therefore drivers of environmentally friendly vehicles benefit from far lower VED.
However with motorists swapping to in large numbers to low emission vehicles less funds are being generated for the treasury. So a new rating structure is being introduced from April 1st.
VED for cars registered after April 1st 2017
It’s important to point out that this system is only applicable to cars and specifically cars registered after April 1st 2017. From that date onwards only vehicles that produce 0 emissions will be exempt from VED.
Those that are not classed as being 0 emission cars will have the amount of tax they are due to pay in the first year calculated based on the volume of CO2 they produce.
The lowest amount of tax that a motorist, having bought a brand new car registered after April 2017 (except for owners of purely electric vehicles that produce no emissions) will be £140.
However the rate in the first year will vary significantly depending on the amount of emissions that car produces.
All motorists with emission producing vehicles will pay a standard rate of tax after the first year unless their vehicle is worth over £40,000.
For 5 years owners of cars costing in excess of £40,000 when brand new will pay an additional rate of £310 each year in addition to the standard rate.
The table below lists further information:
| CO2 EMISSIONS (G/KM) | FIRST YEAR RATE | STANDARD RATE |
| 0 | £0 | £0 |
| 1-50 | £10 | £140 |
| 51-75 | £25 | £140 |
| 76-90 | £100 | £140 |
| 91-100 | £120 | £140 |
| 101-110 | £140 | £140 |
| 111-130 | £160 | £140 |
| 131-150 | £200 | £140 |
| 151-170 | £500 | £140 |
| 171-190 | £800 | £140 |
| 191-225 | £1,200 | £140 |
| 226-255 | £1,700 | £140 |
| Over 255 | £2,000 | £140 |
How much does Road Tax cost for cars registered before April 2017
Cars registered before the April 1st 2017 deadline have their road tax based on 13 emission bands. These are labelled A to M. How much VED you pay will vary.
Drivers will be due to pay between £0 and £1,120 depending on which band their car falls into.
VED Car TAX Bands Pre-April 1st 2017:
| BAND | CO2 EMISSIONS (G/KM) | STANDARD ANNUAL COST | COST FOR FIRST YEAR |
| A | Up to 100 | £0 | £0 |
| B | 101-110 | £20 | £0 |
| C | 111-120 | £30 | £0 |
| D | 121-130 | £110 | £0 |
| E | 131-140 | £130 | £130 |
| F | 141-150 | £145 | £145 |
| G | 151-165 | £185 | £185 |
| H | 166-175 | £210 | £300 |
| I | 176-185 | £230 | £355 |
| J | 186-200 | £270 | £500 |
| I | 201-225 | £295 | £650 |
| L | 226-255 | £500 | £885 |
| M | Over 255 | £515 | £1,120 |
VED tax cost for cars registered before March 2001
If your car was registered before March 2001 your car tax will be based on the vehicle’s engine size.
| ENGINE SIZE | ANNUAL COST |
| Less than 1550 cc | £145 |
| 1550 cc and over | £235 |
How do I know what road tax band my car is?
To learn what road tax band you your vehicle falls into or for further information about VED you should visit the Government’s “Calculate Vehicle Tax” page.
If you know your vehicle registration number the process of getting information is relatively simple at Gov.co.uk.